


Get Away

by nikiverse



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV), True Blood
Genre: F/M, Gen, International Fanworks Day, International Fanworks Day 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 16:46:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5878186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikiverse/pseuds/nikiverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caroline investigates a new drink she's found - Tru Blood. It must be a joke, right? Synthetic blood for vampires? But unbeknownst to Caroline, there's another breed of vampires out there with a shaky alliance with the Mikaelsons. How will Caroline handle being in the cross hairs?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strangers

_Do they honestly think they’re hiding that from me?_ Caroline thought as she rolled her eyes. Across the bar, two vamplings tittered and leaned towards each other. Decked out in flannel shirts and jorts, one pulled out a bottled drink with black and red labeling. She drank, and Caroline could hear her moan. She nodded as she handed the drink to her friend.

Caroline’s interest overshadowed her typical nonchalance. She uncrossed her legs and walked towards them. 

Sensing her pointed stare, one of the vamp quickly screwed the cap back on and shoved the drink in her bag.

“Oh hey,” one said, brushing her hair behind her ear. “It’s Caroline, isn’t it?”

“No outside drinks,” she responded. Caroline held out her hand. The girls looked at each other. “Hand it over. I’m only going to ask once."

The girl nudged her friend. “Come on, Elisha. Just do it.”

Elisha dropped her shoulders, pushing air out of her mouth. She jerked her hand inside her purse and stood, shoving the bottle into Caroline’s chest. “You’re lucky the Sherriff has respect for order. Otherwise you and your dumb boyfriend would not stand a chance.”

Caroline’s eyes burned red, but Elisha did not back down.

“Hey, Elisha,” her friend said, pulling her back.

“Loves,” a voice said from the corner. Caroline smiled. It was Klaus. “You’re going to regret that.”

The chatter in Rousseau’s died down. Eyes turned towards the scene unfolding between Klaus and the out-of-towners. 

Klaus made the first move. Within a second, his hand enveloped Elisha’s wrist. Elisha cocked her head to Klaus. “Oh, honey,” she said. Elisha kicked Caroline into the wall behind her and twisted out of Klaus’s grasp, tripping him onto his back.  She kneeled over him, and her hand squeezed his neck. “The only thing I will regret is not killing you.”

Elisha’s friend yanked her off of Klaus. “Are you crazy?” She looked over at Caroline and said, “She didn’t mean that. We’re just passing through. Bye.”

Klaus stood up, red-faced and sucking wind. The vamps were gone.

Caroline looked down at the glass bottle.

_All Flavor. No Bite.  
Tru Blood._

 


	2. As I Was Saying

The _Tru Blood_ webpage had flashy graphics, but not much content. “Real blood is for suckers,” Caroline whispered to herself. Her teeth grew longer from the memory. It tasted _just_ like blood. “Sold in …. “

“What are you looking at, love?” Klaus interrupted.

Caroline minimized the screen. “Nothing,” she stuttered.

“Now, now. I told you not to go digging into this matter, and I’m deeply disappointed.”  Before Caroline realized it, Klaus had his hands on the sides of her face. She hit his arms. How many times had he compelled her in the past?

“Don’t!” she yelled.

“Caroline, there is an order to things. It is best you not know.”

“Why were they so strong?” Caroline asked.

“They’re ancient. Older than me.”

“Who are they?”

Klaus caught her gaze, and he felt her relax in between his hands. “Forget everything that happened at Rousseau’s today. You had an uninteresting, uneventful walk in the park. You did not have an altercation with any vampires today, nor did you learn anything of consequence. And you’ve never heard of Tru Blood.”

Klaus kissed Caroline’s forehead and pulled away. Caroline shook her head and smiled. “What was that for?” she asked.

“Your beautiful mind,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have business to attend to.”

Caroline pouted and crossed her arms. “Maybe I do too.”

“Yes, yes. The business of pedicures and gossiping,” he said as he walked out the door.

Caroline instinctively looked at her nails. A manicure wasn’t a horrible idea. She turned around and sat at her computer.

She clicked Google Chrome and a dark red bottle popped up on the screen. 

“Tru Blood,” she read. “Synthetic blood nourishment beverage?” Her teeth instinctively lengthened, and she rimmed her tongue inside her mouth to smooth down the points.  

Was this a drink for vampires? How long had it been around? No one even knew vampires existed. Was this a joke? Like those candy cigarettes marketed to kids, they marketed blood to humans? 

She clicked the “Where to buy” link.

_Only sold in Fangtasia._

Caroline stifled a laugh. Fangtasia? How corny. A fake blood drink sold in a “vampire bar”.

 _I wish Bonnie were here so we could laugh at this._  

Caroline had 6 hours until she was supposed to meet Klaus at Rousseau’s, but a more interesting prospect loomed in Shreveport, LA, 5-hours away. Rousseau’s was old news; Fangtasia was hot off the presses. It was decided, she was going on a road trip. Klaus might be upset she bailed on him, but Rousseau’s would always be there. Maybe an ironic t-shirt from Fangtasia would soften the blow.


	3. Bloodsuckers

“Hello honey,” Caroline said sweetly.

“You were supposed to be here two hours ago. I get that beauty takes time, but this is extreme,” Klaus said.

“Ohh, I didn’t tell you?” Caroline _knew_ she didn’t tell him.

She could hear him exhale. “No,” he said through gritted teeth. “No, you didn’t.”

“Just taking a little road trip. It’s funny, really. I was browsing the Internet and a cute, little place caught my eye.” With Klaus, it was always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission – with anyone, really.

“What caught your fancy?“ Caroline imagined Klaus rubbing his chin, calculating and thinking of the right thing to say to pull the truth from Caroline.

“You’re going to laugh, Klaus. It’s some cheesy … vampire bar.” She laughed, saying it out loud. “They even sell this fake blood drink. I just-”

“No!” Klaus interjected. “I forbid it.”

She pulled her ear away from the phone. “Klaus, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Caroline, I’m warning you.”

“Of what?! You don’t own me, Klaus. It was nice talking to you, bye!” She ended the call and put her phone on silent as she threw it in the passenger seat. Klaus was probably calling her back right now. Caroline rolled her eyes and pressed the accelerator to the floor. She wasn’t turning back now.

* * *

“I got a call from Niklaus,” Pam said.

“What does that petulant kid want?” Eric said.

“His girl is coming here.”

Eric couldn’t stop from laughing. “Does he understand we’re not responsible if anything might happen to her?”

“He’s asking for mercy.” Pam walked towards the door, looking over her shoulder. “Whatever that is.”

Eric leaned forward and pointed his finger at Pam. “You tell Niklaus, I will rip him down the middle if he comes within a 10 mile radius of my Area.”

Pam nodded.

“And Pam?”

“Yes.”

Eric sighed. “Also tell him no harm will come upon his mistress as long as she plays nice.”

Pam pouted. “Fine.” She pulled her cellphone from her pocket as she walked out the door.

Eric leaned back and sank into his chair. The vampires from the south were of a different breed and created by magic. A decade-old _true_ vampire could certainly win in a fight against any of the “Originals” and the magic they sprang from. Eric thought it awfully prideful the Mikaelsons referred to themselves as “Originals.” They deserved death for that assertion alone. He wondered when the Authority would tire of these these bloodsuckers and put an end to them.

They did have one advantage over true vampires though. The Mikaelsons could walk in the daylight. Perhaps the Authority wanted to study this trait. Eric thought the experiment would never work though. Bloodsuckers were created through magic and, therefore, the bloodsuckers could solve true vampire problems by magic, by loopholes. True vampirism was organic, was pure, and loopholes did not exist for them.

Pam barged into the door and grabbed a case of Tru Blood.

_But, never doubt the problems science can solve._

Ever since the creation of Tru Blood, the Authority claimed it would start introducing the existence vampires to the news agencies. _That was going to be a shitshow_ , thought Eric. _And speaking of shitshow_ …. Klaus’s pleas from earlier replayed in Eric’s mind. He could not have this New Orleans bloodsucker causing chaos within the walls of his bar, which was receiving more and more attention every week with the announcement of Tru Blood. But Eric _had_ made Klaus a promise.

He sighed to himself. The room dulled him, and he grew bored of thinking. Eric would check out this creature from New Orleans invading his bar. Eric thought it best if Klaus’s current taste of the week stayed in Fangtasia; Ginger could mop her up. And Eric would have eternity to make amends for broken promises to Klaus, the “original” bloodsucker.

 


	4. Fangtasia

_This is really_ _a bar for vampires_ , Caroline thought incredulously. Most of the vampires she had seen in Mystic Falls were, well, hot. But here, in Fangtasia, the story was completely different. Caroline knew her mom wouldn’t even look twice at some of these dudes. A 60-year old looking, god-knows-how-actual-old guy in a leather vest brushed past her. Caroline shuddered and silently prayed none of his arm hair got caught in her sweater.

“What a fail,” she said to herself.

She walked to the bar, sat in a stool and threw her purse on the counter. A woman with horrible roots and a too tight pleather tank walked over to her. “What’ll ya have?” she asked. Caroline could see the gum peeking out of the bartender’s mouth. 

Caroline smiled politely and shrugged.

“I know what you want, sugar.” The bartender winked. She bent down and placed a Tru Blood on the counter. She popped the top and slid it over to Caroline. “If you don’t like it, it’s on me.”

Caroline couldn’t help but smile. Free drinks were fun, especially when the giver did so of their own free will. “Thank you. What’s your name?”

“Ginger. Oh, and it’s at 98.6, give or take. Let me know if ya need anything.” Ginger tapped the bar with her nails and walked to the other end. She slapped a guy’s hand and leaned in, her boobs cascading out of her top. He kissed her cheek. She playfully pushed him away. 

Caroline sipped the drink, trying to ignore the smells of bleach battling whatever it was trying to kill. The Tru Blood didn’t taste _exactly_ like blood, it wasn’t as good as the bags from the hospital, but it wasn’t bad either. She pulled out her phone and there were a multitude of texts, missed calls, voicemails from Klaus. Caroline stuck her phone back into her purse. She’d deal with him later. She texted Bonnie: _Ugh we thought the Grill was bad … youll never guess where I am_.

From the corner of her eye, Caroline felt someone staring straight at her. She dropped the bottle from her lips and saw another blonde standing behind the bar, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. _Awkward much?_ Caroline thought.

The blonde looked past Caroline to the stage and shook her head at someone. Caroline turned around and saw a man, sitting in a chair on the stage with his legs crossed. He was not there before, but now, he was. Even though the man was sitting, Caroline could tell he would tower over her. He had the build of a football player – the quarterback, like Matt. But also, not like Matt. More mature than Matt. An obscenely dark, dated outfit polished off this man’s bright eyes and dirty blonde hair. _What is with this place? Everyone dresses like they stumbled out of 2001._ Caroline, realizing she was staring, turned back to face the wall, pretending to read a poster while she shoved the Tru Blood bottle back into her mouth. Caroline placed the drink down. The new blonde stalked over and threw her drink into the trash.

“Hey!” Caroline said.

“You’re done,” she said. “Now leave.” She threw her thumb at the exit.

Caroline thought of protesting, but nothing of consequence would happen here. The people were trash, and the bags of _real_ blood were much better than the crap in the glass bottles.

“I was getting full anyways,” Caroline said, making sure she threw a pointed stare at the blonde’s stomach. She stood from the stool and stepped towards the door but ran into the man from the stage, now standing in front of Caroline.

“Now Pam,” he said. “Is that any way to treat a new customer?” He snapped at Ginger, who grabbed another drink and shuffled over to Caroline and Pam.

“Go away, Ginger,” Pam said.

Ginger turned to leave, but then paused. She quickly opened the Tru Blood, slid it towards Caroline, and then shuffled to the other corner of the bar.

“Eric,” Pam said, “this one doesn’t pass the age limit.”

Caroline scoffed. “I was born in ’92.”

Pam leaned over the bar. “When you reach the century mark, then you have my permission to talk.” Pam took Caroline’s Tru Blood and drank. She threw the remainder in the trash. Caroline flinched when the bottle broke.

Eric stared at Pam. The silent communication caused Pam to frown even deeper than Caroline thought possible. She walked away.

“Wow,” Caroline said. “Do you own this place? You have to work on your welcoming committee.”

“Yes,” he said. “I do now.” He leaned on the bar. “Ginger,” he called. Running on her tippy toes, she bounced over.  “Get some ladies on the stage, will you? I’m tired of people staring.” Ginger nodded and scuttled away. Caroline needed a movement or a thought to fill the silence. She wished Pam had not thrown away her drink.

The lights lowered. Speakers buzzed out a twangy country song. A nude woman wearing dangerously high heels started waltzing and caressing the pole. The chatter returned to the bar as the customers’ attention diverted back to the stage.

This campy joke from earlier in the day was nothing more than a seedy, dangerous vampire dive. And turned out Eric, this man who oozed sensuality and wisdom, did nothing more than manage a strip joint for vampires. Caroline turned back around, and Eric was intently gazing at her, _through_ her.

“So,” she said. “Is this your … club?”

“Yes, it is. And, yes, I detect your condescending tone and judgment.”

Caroline blushed and waved her hand in front of her face. “I’m sorry, that was rude. You know, let’s start over. I’m Caroline.” She held out her hand.

He held her hand. “And I’m Eric.” He leaned down and kissed it. Caroline turned redder and slid her hand from his.

“I have a boyfriend.”

Eric furrowed his brows and laughed. “My, you are presumptuous.”

Caroline reached for her drink and, again, remembered Pam threw it away.

“And Niklaus? He’s already called, begging for your life.” Caroline suddenly felt hot. Dead air filled her ears, and she wanted to faint. Eric continued talking. “Did you know I am older than Niklaus, the ‘Original’?”

Caroline stepped back. She needed to leave. Her curiosity had waned, she was not having fun, and this place was a garbage dump. _I’m afraid, and I am outnumbered_ , she admitted to herself.

“Your kind and my kind have some agreement; I don’t know what, and I don’t care. But you, Miss Caroline, knowingly or not, have broken the pact by being here.” Eric rubbed his chin. Her name sounded like butter dropping from his lips, but she sensed the danger behind his silky, calm voice.

“God, you sound like Klaus,” she said. Caroline grabbed her purse from the counter and walked around Eric. “I’m leaving, you’ll never see me again.”

When she got to the door, Eric was already there, looking down at her. “Pam?” he yelled.

By the time Caroline could react, she felt clawed hands on her shoulders.  

“Take her to the back room,” he said.

“With pleasure,” Pam cooed.


	5. Warm Welcome

Pam towed Caroline down the stairs. Chains hung from the ceiling, and a few more draped across the wall.

“I’m sure you guessed we would have whips and chains somewhere here. I hope they’re to your liking,” Pam said dryly. She stared into Caroline’s eyes as the chains snapped around her wrists. Pam slinked back and shadows covered her face, stopping at her lips. Ginger stood near the door with a scowl. “After the sun comes out, be sure to clean up the mess,” Pam said. Ginger nodded.

“You guys are total dicks! You can’t leave me here forever!” Caroline yelled as they walked out the door. She pulled against the chains but they were as steady and strong as Pam’s grip. Realizing the futility of her situation, Caroline stopped resisting. She would be here awhile. Sounds of the vampire bar – lazy country music, muffled groans of sex, and the occasional glass shattering – kept her company.  Ginger, breathed heavily outside the door and stood guard.

 _Your kind and my kind_ … At Rousseau’s, she remembered the plaid-shirt girl tossing Klaus down like a bear tossing a fish in the air. You could tell they were recently changed just how they dressed, young and fresh. Not like these guys at Fangtasia. Not like Pam, wearing her dated Hot Topic coutoure. She talked like you didn’t know where or when she was from. Eric wore dated clothes as well. His shirts were too heavy for the heat, and one button too many was unbuttoned. He sounded like Klaus at times. The Rousseau’s visitors were eager and feisty, current, like Caroline and Elena.  She knew they were freshly changed vampires. Yet, they were stronger than Klaus. And Pam, from what Caroline could tell, was unbelievably strong. She wanted peace with these vampires but trapping her in chains, attempting to kill her, was offensive and evil. She did nothing wrong.

Eric appeared at the stairs. “Too bad you can’t stay,” he said to Caroline.

“Why are you doing this? Just let me go!” Caroline begged.

He walked into the room and placed a hand on Caroline’s cheek. She turned away. “We’re going public in a few weeks,” he finally said. “Humans will riot. Our kind will die. This I know for sure. You, I do not. I do not need to look over both shoulders. Humans here, you there.”

Caroline scoffed. “Wrong. You’re just killing to kill. I will never come back to this dump again. Just let me go!”

Eric crossed his arms. “Flattery will get you nowhere with me.”

 _Dump was probably a bad word choice_.

“The Authority wants me for the next Sheriff, and Sheriffs do not have loose ends. You,” he pointed a finger into her chest, “… are a loose end. Maybe even a loose cannon.” He crossed his arms again and paused, studying Caroline. “I can see why your Maker chose you. Enjoy the sunrise.” He pointed to Ginger. “And you!” he yelled.

Ginger yelped and quickly sidestepped down the stairs. Eric grabbed both sides of Ginger’s face and looked into her eyes. “Under no circumstances let this vampire escape.” He walked away, back to the smoke and the metallic air.

 “Yes, boss,” Ginger yelled after him. She looked to Caroline and stuck her tongue out. Caroline dropped her head back and groaned. The almost-reasonable vampire was gone. She was stuck with the walking meth lab.

This was going to be a long night.


	6. Ray of Sunshine

Sometime during the late night, the music stopped. Glasses clinked as they were placed into plastic bins. Faucets and vacuums turned on and off. Ginger’s footsteps tittered above her head. _Who wipes down tables in 4 inch stilettos?_

Pam and Eric walked past Caroline, paying no attention to her.

“Okay, bye,” she yelled after them. “Nice to meet you!”

As they walked past her, Eric looked over his shoulder. Despite her hands hanging above her forehead, Caroline had a bored stance, all her weight on one leg, an imaginary hand on her hip. Caroline only heard a door shut and wood sliding over wood. She presumed Eric and Pam were stepping into caskets. She dry heaved. _How morbid_.

Moments later, Ginger came into the room, avoiding Caroline’s gaze. “Oh man,” she taunted Caroline. “When the sun comes out, are you gonna be sorry. And don’t you try to glamour me. I’m just looking for my bracelet.” Ginger fell on her knees, patting the floor with one hand, hiding the side of her face with the other. 

“There is nothing on the floor,” Caroline said.

Ginger stood up, wobbling on her stilletos. “Well,” she said, waving her free hand towards Caroline, “I’ll get it later. And don’t you goo all over it when you meet the true death!” She headed out the door, and Caroline heard her fall up the stairs.  

* * *

The sun shone through the windows, and Caroline bathed in its warmth, her daylight ring reflecting the rays. Eric must know that Klaus walked around in the daylight. Maybe he thought it was just a benefit of being an ‘Original’ not bestowed upon the rest of the vampires in Mystic Falls. Not many of them had the rings so it was plausible Eric made an assumption daywalking was a trait and not a gift. No matter, Caroline had her ring and Caroline was not burning. 

Ginger opened the door and immediately screamed. Caroline recoiled.

“Wow,” Caroline said. “Hey, hey. Remember me? Yeah, sweet girl from out of town?”

Ginger paused, and screamed again. The shrillness of Ginger’s voice felt like a dagger through Caroline’s sinuses. She pointed to Caroline, “How?”

Caroline plastered a smile on her face. “They have it all wrong, Ginger!”

“But you drank the Tru Blood!”

“Stupid me, I didn’t know what it was. Didn’t you see Pam take my other one away from me? Ginger, listen to me, I am not a vampire.”

Ginger’s eyes widened.

Caroline tried to flip her hair over her shoulder, but her predicament made it difficult. “The sunlight is on me. I’d be dead if I were a vampire.”

Ginger slowly walked towards Caroline. “Pam and Eric said you were a vampire.”

“Well, I’m not,” Caroline said.

Ginger pulled a knife from under her skirt. “Woah,” said Caroline.

Ginger ran the knife along her wrist, and blood trickled out. She planted her wrist in front of Caroline’s face. She felt her teeth stretch but held them at bay. She looked into Ginger’s eyes, which widened. Caroline pushed into Ginger’s consciousness. 

“Ginger,” Caroline said. “Grab the keys and let me go.” 

Ginger put the knife back under her dress to God-knows-where and immediately turned to leave the room. Caroline heard the tinkering of metal and Ginger bounded back into the room and started finagling the locks around her wrists.

 _Compelling willing victims is like pushing a finger into Jell-o_.

Ginger noticed her arm was still bleeding and nudged it towards Caroline’s face.

“Oh, God. No.” Caroline crunched her nose. “You can leave now.” Ginger shuffled out of the room. _She might be better off dead._

The thought of letting bygones be bygones crossed Caroline’s mind. A version of herself was already jumping into her car, turning the ignition, and heading back to New Orleans. That Caroline might have been in such a rush to leave, she dropped her keys while running out or left her favorite jacket behind on a stool.

But that was not _this_ Caroline.

This Caroline walked to the door Pam and Eric entered earlier. It was not as sturdy as the one that led into the bar. She ran her finger across the deadbolt, and then it trailed down to the doorknob. She shook the handle and then pulled, hard. The doorknob came off in her hand.

Caroline stood back and then swiftly kicked the deadbolt. The door flew open.

Two caskets sat in the middle of the room. No windows.

A twinge of sadness, or guilt, touched Caroline. These two fantastical creatures were in the dregs of Louisiana, imprisoned inside two shoddy caskets. Sleeping alone. They were immortal, for godsake.

 _And then the only light you ever see comes from fluorescent bulbs_? Caroline twisted her daylight ring around her finger. Would she even stick this vampire thing out if she couldn’t see real sunlight?

Caroline returned to the task at hand. One of these lucky bastards was going to get some sun very soon.


	7. Back to Where I Belong

Caroline left the ornate, gothic casket inside the room, the one with etchings in the wood. The darker one was closer to the door, so she started pulling it into the other room. Caroline guessed Pam remained in the undisturbed casket. Maybe she would think Eric was lying about being pulled into the sun. After all, why would Caroline just pull one of them into the sun? _Pam would_ never _think that Eric would lie to her though_ , thought Caroline. _She’s like his puppy_.

Maybe Eric would never tell anyone. He would be too embarrassed someone born in 1992 had a thousand-old, “real” vampire’s life in their silly little, 1992 hands.

What if this was Pam’s casket? Pam would probably lie and claim that Caroline was really dead, that Ginger had already cleaned her up. The potential confusion and embarrassment between the two was almost too much for Caroline to bear. She was going to have a great story when she returned to New Orleans.

“You see, Caroline?” She was talking to herself, grunting while she pulled the all-black casket from the closet into the sunlit room. “Sometimes you have to stand up to bullies.” She dropped the casket in the middle of the sunlight. “Otherwise, they keep coming back at you.”

The coffin lid fit snuggly in the coffin. Caroline finally lifted the edge and slid the lid to the side. _Eric!_ She knew it.

When Klaus slept, he looked like he was sleeping. But Eric looked like a bona fide corpse. Lifeless, stiff. Dead.

“Wakey, wakey,” she cooed, leaning over Eric. As soon as his eyes sprung open, Caroline stepped to the side and her shadow traveled away from Eric’s face.

Eric’s face reddened, and she heard a sizzle. Small feathers of smoke rose from his exposed skin. Eric lifted his arms in front of his face, and started screaming in pain. He flailed for his coffin lid as confusion turned to realization. His hands shook, and flames sprouted from his skin.

Caroline shoved Eric back to close the coffin, sealing him back inside his grave. She could still hear his screams, and the coffin shook as he recovered.

“Caroline?” Eric yelled. “Caroline! I will find you! I will kill you.”

“Just remember who gave you a second chance, asshole.”

* * *

Windows open, and Chvrches played through the speakers. Caroline drove back to New Orleans, back to her home.

Would Eric kill her? The guy seemed pretty true to his word. And the Fangtasia group seemed pretty brutal and nasty, and those chains had seen better days for sure. But Caroline could not live her whole life under a rock. She refused to hide.

Things had worked out. And Caroline was alive. Ginger even helped her find her purse. A few bottles of Tru Blood rolled around in her floorboard and clacked together. Her phone buzzed.

 _Klaus_.

Caroline picked up the phone and immediately started talking.  “Look Klaus, I’m driving back. And I need you to know I had a really bad day, you can save the lecture for later.”

Klaus interrupted, “Love, I’m glad you’re finally coming home.”

Caroline paused, waiting for the impending “but…. “

She smiled when the line stayed silent. He surprised her sometimes. She pouted. “Those guys were jerks.”

“Eric Northman called me. He said you were – how did he word it? – a ‘joy’, and you were always welcome back.”

She laughed. “That’s not going to happen.”

“You can be naughty in New Orleans. But let’s stay away from northern Louisiana from now on.”

“You have my word.”


	8. Epilogue

Caroline heard the knock and ran downstairs. No one was there. She saw an envelope with her name written in cursive sitting on the porch.

She bent over to pick up the note, and she pulled out the cream-colored, gold embossed card inside.

It read:

> _Dearest Caroline,_
> 
> _As a result of your hijinks, I have higher security concerning my sleeping arrangements. As a thank you for exposing this hole in my defenses, I will have cases of Tru Blood shipped to you for the foreseeable future._
> 
> _Your biggest fan,_
> 
> _Sherriff Northman_

Caroline ran her fingers across the loopy cursive, feeling the indentations of the pen. She walked outside, and the wind pushed her hair into her eyes. In the shadows of the streetlight, a tall man stood still in the road. Caroline wiped the hair from her face, and he was gone.


End file.
